Mountain Sanctuary (13 page)

S
tella stared at the man across from her, the impact of his confession chilling her to the bones. This certainly wasn’t how she’d wanted Adam to open up to her, but since he’d blurted the whole story out, she intended to keep him talking. “You’re ashamed because you tried to help your brother?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t help him. But when I found out what he was doing, I didn’t turn him in. I should have. But he’s my brother. And he promised to stop the price gouging immediately.”

“Did he?”

“Yes, but it was too late. Somebody else turned him in. I had to watch as they booked him into jail.”

Stella could only imagine how Adam had been torn by his decision. No matter what he did, someone would wind up hurt. She thought of the tiny baby dove and the mother fighting to save it. “So why did you have a fight with him? I mean, if you weren’t the one who turned him in?”

“But I knew, Stella. I knew what he’d done and I kept that information to myself, to protect him, to protect our family. That goes against everything I’ve ever been taught in life. And it went against my job. I’ve never been dishonest in my work, but this…this hit me in a bad way. My daddy practically disowned both of us. But my mama, she’s a bit more forgiving. She was disappointed, but she never once turned against us.”

“Did you get fired from your job?”

“No. I resigned a few days after I told the chief the truth. He didn’t want me to quit, but he certainly understood.”

Stella wanted to reach out to him, but her emotions were too jagged right now, and they both were too vulnerable at the moment. It would be a mistake for both of them. “So you just left.”

He nodded. “I drove away and I didn’t stop until I got here and stopped right at your door.”

She let the significance of that fact sink in. He’d never lied about that, at least. He’d never lied to her about anything. Now she could understand his need to keep his past private. He’d been protecting his family, especially his brother. Hadn’t she and her dad done the very same thing after her mother had left? They’d tried so hard to protect each other. “What happened to your brother?”

Adam lowered his head then rubbed his hand down the back of his neck. “He had to pay a fine and he’s doing community service and he’s on probation. As long as he keeps his cool and doesn’t backslide, he’ll be okay. He’s actually helping to rebuild down there, but this time for free. He wants his baby boy to be proud of him.”

Stella could understand that concept. “Sounds like he learned his lesson.”

“I think he did. He’s young and he was influenced by the wrong set of friends. But me, I don’t have that excuse. I just turned a blind eye out of some misguided sense of duty and loyalty.”

Stella touched her hand to his arm. “Adam, you love your brother. You were hurt by what he did, and you wanted to protect him. Maybe you used bad judgment, but your intentions were honorable.”

He got up to pace, then whirled to look down at her, his next words full of sarcasm. “Yeah, my intentions are always
so
honorable, but this time my sense of honor forced me to leave my home.”

“You didn’t have to leave. You could have stayed and worked something out.
You
didn’t break the law.”

“I might as well have. People look at you differently when they find out you’ve withheld information. It’s hard to find anyone’s trust after that. That’s why I didn’t want you to know.”

Stella saw the torment in his eyes. “I think I trust you even more now, for telling me the truth.”

His head came up, then he let out a long sigh. “Then I’m glad you know the truth. Maybe we can just get past that now. I don’t have any more secrets, Stella.”

Stella wanted to get past all of her own doubts and fears, but she was too worried about her daddy to think beyond this hospital. However, she could offer Adam some hope. “Your secret isn’t so bad, Adam. My husband did a lot worse than that. He lied, cheated and stole without batting an eye. He cleaned out our savings and wasted the money away on ridiculous schemes and empty promises. So don’t feel like you’re alone in your embarrassment.”

He sat back down beside her, then took her hand. “But you wanted complete honesty from me. You think I’m that kind of man, the kind who is always on the right side of the law, the kind who does no wrong. Now you know, I make mistakes, same as anyone else. Sometimes the best of intentions bring about the worst results.”

Stella nodded. “Yes, but I also know the difference is, you turn to God to make things right. Not just with the world, but within yourself. The rest of us could learn a lesson from that.”

“Do you think God will forgive me?”

“Oh, Adam, I know that in my heart,” she said. “I might not reach out to the Man Above for everything in my life, but I sure can believe that He’s in your corner.”

The look in his eyes held her. “Stella, if He can forgive me, why can’t He do the same for you? And why can’t you turn to Him now when you need Him the most?”

Stella couldn’t answer that question, except to say, “Because I’m afraid I won’t like the answers He might offer me. I don’t want my daddy to die. I didn’t want that little dove to die. That’s why I’m afraid to even pray. I’ll ask for something God can’t give me.”

Adam held her hand tight in his. “Listen to me. Prayer is not about getting our way. It’s about letting God show us His way. If it’s time for Him to take your daddy home, then as hard as that is to accept, we have to let go and know that God will be there waiting for our loved ones. It’s a sad thing for those of us left behind, but a joyous thing for Heaven.” He glanced out the window. The sky was still gray, but the rain had stopped. “We’d like to protect those we love forever, just like that mama dove. But we have to let go and know that some things are in God’s hands. And sometimes we can’t save the ones we love. Those little birds will leave the nest, no matter what we do. And their mother instinctively knows that.”

“Is that what you believed when you left New Orleans to come here? Did you just give up and let God take over?”

“I didn’t turn my back on my family, if that’s what you think. I went to my brother before I left and told him I loved him and that I wasn’t leaving because of him. But he saw it differently. We had words, but he knows I love him. And my mother knows I might come home one day, whether everyone there wants to see me or not. So I reckon I did let God take over. I needed a break, and I found it here with you. But one day, I’ll have to go back and face my family.”

She started crying again, but this time it wasn’t just for her daddy. Thinking about the mama dove, she asked, “What about my mama, Adam? I’m not sure where she stood, faithwise, when she died? I…I need to know if she made it into God’s arms.”

He gave her a long, measuring look, as if he wanted to tell her something. But he held back, then said, “I believe she made it, Stella. And I believe in spite of her actions here on earth, she loved you a lot. Maybe she was kind of like me and my brother. She did what she had to do, to protect you.”

“But why couldn’t she have been more like that mother dove? Why didn’t she fight for me?”

“I think she did, in her own way. She loved you enough to let you go.”

As her heart flooded with hope and understanding, Stella gave in to the need to pull him close. “You make everything seem so right,” she whispered through her tears. “Even when it’s all wrong.”

Adam held her close, the warmth of his arms around her like a shield against all the ugliness of the world. Then he tugged her back in her chair so she could lean on him as they sat there in the corner, waiting on word about her daddy.

About an hour later, a doctor came out of the emergency room. “Mrs. Forsythe?”

“That’s me,” Stella said, jumping up. “How’s my daddy?”

“Wally is just fine,” the doctor said, a gentle smile on his face. “It wasn’t a heart attack but it was a bad case of angina. We’re going to release him, but he has orders to follow up with his heart doctor first thing tomorrow morning. I think we can adjust his medicine a bit and hopefully he won’t have another scare like this.”

“Are you sure?” Stella asked. “He’s been so sick.”

“I can’t be positive, but I can offer you some hope. Of course, you have to consider his age and his medical history.”

Stella nodded, unable to argue that point. “I’ll make sure he gets to the doctor tomorrow. Can I see him now?”

“Of course. He’s been asking for you. If you’ll just fill out some forms, you can visit with him while we wait for a wheelchair. Then you can take him home. Oh, and make him rest in bed all day, okay?”

“Okay.” She turned to Adam. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll bring the car around,” Adam said after shaking the doctor’s hand.

Stella nodded, then followed the doctor to the room where they’d put Wally. She stopped just inside the door, watching as her father’s breath caused the hospital gown they’d put on him to flutter.
Thank You, God. I didn’t want to pray because I only wanted to ask You to spare him. But…You knew that anyway. You knew how to hear my prayer, even when I couldn’t voice it. And now I have to accept what I know in my heart, Lord. I can’t control everything myself. I have to turn some of it over to You.

Stating that prayer brought Stella a powerful sense of peace. It would be hard. Life was always hard. But if she turned to God, He could help her bear the worst of burdens. Maybe He’d been doing that all along.

Stella went to her father with a new presence inside her heart. No matter what happened, she believed that Christ would guide her father home one day. And Christ would also guide her through life, both the good and the bad. That assurance had been in her heart, right there where she’d hidden it for so long.

And come next Sunday, she would be the one to ask Adam to walk to church with Kyle and her.

Things were different now.

Adam grinned as he surveyed the new and improved Sanctuary Inn Bed-and-Breakfast. The whole house had been painted a glistening bright white and the shutters were a dark green. The contrast made the old place look neat and pretty, and the scalloped white fringe around the eaves only added to the wedding cake look of the Victorian farmhouse.

“Not bad, if I do say so myself,” Adam said, turning to high-five Kyle.

“Not bad,” Kyle mimicked, taking the same stance as Adam.

Now that school was out, the boy was like a little shadow, following him around, offering to help out. He’d helped out, all right. Kyle had more paint on him than he’d put on the part of the house Adam had allowed him to tackle. But that was fine by Adam. He was a happy man these days.

“Think Mama’s gonna like it?” Kyle asked, his hands on his hips.

“I do believe she will,” Adam said as he started gathering up their paint cans and brushes. “But she won’t like it if we leave this mess in her flower bed. Let’s get ourselves washed up and clean for dinner.”

“She’s making fried chicken.”

“Can’t wait for that.”

“And you know somethin’, Mr. Adam? I don’t think she’s gonna burn it this time. She said she’s learning to let things simmer, whatever that means.”

Adam had to chuckle at that. He knew what it meant. Since the day they’d brought Wally home from the emergency room, something had changed inside Stella. And that something had broken all the walls she’d built around herself. Which made Adam happy. Very happy.

Stella was letting him get closer, each and every day. They weren’t arguing or discussing anymore. They actually had quiet conversations about mundane little things. They were free and clear and…ready for anything. They enjoyed sitting in the garden with guests, or taking the long walk up toward town for some food and music. They’d even hiked up the mountain together for a nice picnic while Kyle was at day camp out on the lake, but only after a church friend had offered to sit with Wally.

In spite of her worries about her daddy’s health, Stella was taking things much better these days. She watched out for Wally and made sure he went for his checkups and took his medicine, but Adam could see the peace in her face now. And she’d been going to church with him on a regular basis. That did his heart good.

She’d just been standing there one Sunday morning, waiting for him at the bottom of the steps in a pretty floral dress, her Bible in one hand and a dainty antique purse in the other. Taking Stella to church had been a big step. The climb up that hill had felt like climbing a mountain, but they’d done it together.

She’d also spent more time out in her studio, doing her china painting. He thought about the painting he’d bought for her. Her mother’s painting. He was waiting for just the right time to give it to her, because there was a lot more to that still life than met the eye. A whole lot more.

He finished cleaning his brushes, then glanced up to find her standing there at the kitchen window, her smile indulgent and pretty. “Spying on us, Stella?”

“I can’t help it if I happen to be standing by my kitchen window, now can I?”

“I reckon not. That chicken sure smells good.”

“It’s almost ready. And after we eat, we need to go over the details of the wedding. Only three days away.”

“Okay. I finished the house just in time. Everything is ready.”

Wally peeped around the window, grinning. “The first wedding at the new and improved Sanctuary. I sure hope the bride and groom are as spruced up as this old place.”

“We’ll make sure of that,” Stella said, laughing. “I’ve got everything planned. Now, if the weather will just cooperate.”

“Should be clear,” Adam said through the window. “When are they due in?”

“Thursday,” she replied, a dreamy look on her face. “The rehearsal dinner is set for seven at the seafood restaurant out on the lake on Friday night, then Saturday morning they get hitched right here in the garden. It’s going to be so pretty. And it will bring in a pretty penny for the old Sanctuary.”

Adam laughed at her pragmatic nature as he shook out the wet brushes then glanced around the backyard. The magnolia was in full bloom now and the pine trees swayed, their graceful broomlike green needles floating in the wind. The crape myrtles were blooming white and pink to form a perfect path for the bride to walk toward the gazebo. They’d set out chairs and tables they’d rented from a place called Majestic Tents and Adam had built an arbor and painted it white so Stella could plant a running rose that would one day cover the whole thing in delicate salmon-pink blossoms. Right now, it was doing its duty by blooming along one side of the arbor.